What's your pdoc like?

THE only reason I still go for six month check ups , is not to see a shrinks student doctor or to change my meds I do that at the GP they have a better range of meds. NO its just to keep my name on the list for if something happens and I need the hospital bad, I would have to be dieing to see them but its comfort for my wife and kids. If ever i say I don't want my check up anymore my file would go straight to the bottom of the pile an forgotten. After that , to see anyone at the hospital I would have to start the hole procedure again , ie GP waiting list 2 years just to get through the door. Now by going 10 minutes every 6 months I get seen in 2 hours after a phone call , not that it will do much good , but has I say I do it for my family. O course some of you have great shrinks there has to be a few that haven't gone to America , and im happy for you, my hospital near on killed me with bad mistakes and they no it. Everyone makes mistakes it just happened to me they made it on , so you cam see why I have no respect for some crap mental unit that took half my brain.

I've been seeing mine for years on the nhs. I get a full hour (sometimes more) with her too. That set up doesn't make sense to me. How are hey supposed to judge how you're doing?

Mine is great. He's very friendly, likes to engage in conversation, has a sense of humor, and my appointments are for 30 mins. He's a keeper for sure.

Mine is very bubbly. She'd make jokes and try to make me laugh.. she's also very concerned too. There was a time I was in crisis (danger to self) and she let me go home, but the next week I had an appointment with T and she went to ask T how was I doing and that she's worried about me.

I miss her. I won't see her anymore.. meeting a new pdoc soon.

Hold on a minute are you PRIVATE nhs , how would they get through hundreds of patients if they all got an hour check up. That's about 7 a day , 20 minutes is standard time on the register , but they see 4 an hour mostly, some run over. 3 shrinks are on duty in the out patients of the multi million £ mental hospital, 2 on the desk , security. all for 21 patients a day I don't think so , 1 shrink would see that many.

You have GAD , once you have anxierty meds why a shrink and not a GP , he is a pill dispencer that's all. You need C B T that's the only thing they have for G A D and Benzos of course if 2 life changing. Most depressives suffer from G A D and treat it has 1 illness.

They don't , there are 2 many patients for hours in the day.

You are lucky , has I said there has to be some good one,s , I don't no about the humour though, if I could laugh I woundent need him.

Well, it doesn't really matter if they actually paid into the system before or not, no one cares. That money is gone. They see what the patient will cost in the future. They offer more help to the young so they might be able to be productive and not cost a fortune.

I'm not saying this is right. I think everyone should have the same right not to suffer.

We are an area of 100,000 people and we have five full time outpatient psychiatrists. I have no idea how many of the citizens that are psych patients, but it kind of is intuitive that everyone cannot have regular appointments. Now I'm not in UK so I should not compare, but still.

Also, over here a GP sees four patients per hour.

Run that by me again if someone has paid in lets say a round figure £100,000 he will get less attention to someone that may earn sweet F A , in his life just because he is young. Why have I and thousands of others who worked all there lives to keep the NHS running for people with an attitude like you. Jesus do you no what you just said makes no sence and is insulting.

My first pdoc was very friendly. He remembered minor stuff about my life that would not be written in my chart (like my cats' names). He just never thought I was "stable" as he never let me go more than a month without an appointment. Either that or he wanted to bill my insurance for more visits. I'd like to think he was not in it for the money.

My current pdoc is a little cold, but effective. He will take time to explain things about my treatment when I ask, but he is direct and to the point. I would rather a pdoc be on the "cold" side though, as overly friendly people drive me nuts as I hate socializing. He will let me go 3 months between appointments when he thinks I am stable (which is most of the time) though right now I am on 6 weeks as we recently added a new med and need to monitor it.

Sewerrats, I'm NOT being insulting. I'm explaining why I as a 40+ gets less care than a 20 year old in my country (Not your country). I clearly said I don't AGREE on this reasoning. YOU are not affected by my system, I am. MY opinion is that everyone in MY country should have the same care.

For the moderators, I hope that is not making it too much into politics, but I will also tell Sewerrats that I did NOT vote for the party running my country.

The end.

Where do you come from, how old are you , and how is your medical services run ,and funded , you have mentioned none of this, AND with global resession and nobody working how is it funded. You mentioned 40 years as if that is old I earned my best money in construction at 40 -50 . You have to explain you crazy remarks now you have dug your hole. Lets hear about your health care and who pays for it, also who is paying for your care, the state, you, your parents.

Guys - let's try not to make this political / economic. Nobody has to justify anything. Let's please stick to the original question of what your psychiatrist is like?

I've had 3 -

The first was a disaster. Always at least an hour and a half late for the appointment. She'd give me 50 min. but wouldn't ask any questions - just stare at me like I was a lab specimen while I talked, not good. Then she up and disappeared - called my AD prescription into the pharmacy with 12 repeats on it, and literally disappeared. Couldn't get an appointment with her at all.

I liked #2. She was really friendly, was interested in all areas of my life and did therapy - 50 min. appointments. But she was a little too pro meds for my liking.

Currently on #3. I was assigned to him, after #2 left the hospital. I didn't like him at first as he's kind of cold initially, but he's warmed up. He's very blunt and to the point. 20 min appointments are standard - although I can request a 50 min appointment if I need one, but honestly we accomplish more in the 20 min, than I ever did in the 50 min with my other pdoc. He's all about med's management, but very knowledgeable and believes in minimum dose possible. He's also interested in what else is going on in my life - he's just brusque about it. I've come to really like him.

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My pdoc is middle aged, and talks so so fast. Lol she has a super high energy level. She listens tho, and is very dedicated to helping the client do what they think is right. She is very hands off, meaning that I pretty much have free rein with my meds (in a safe way of course).

I have a free rein of meds at my GP and not at hospital has they are cash strapped. MY G P s broke away an bought there own practice all 5 doctors. They have a therapist on site. There view of the hospital shrinks is bad, after all they have to pick up the pieces from bad mistakes made by them. I go to my GP for med review tomorrow , ie every 3 months and full blood work, I have thyroid, colestoral, arthritis , probs ect ect . why should a gp have to sort out my psych drugs and not the mental hospital. I am a file they bring out once every six months , give to a stranger then 10minutes later put it back. I have come away some years ago with bad shrink meds at ridiculous high start levels , and had to bE sedated by GP ON 100MG VALIUM while I sit on a chair in my garden at 5 below freezing with no cloths burning up in detox cause by the nut shrinks.

My first impression, gosh, that was 4.5 years ago, early 2009. It took me 3 months to get the appointment, by virtue of being a new patient.
OK, well, for starters, Oh, he's the psychiatrist. It's an office of neurologists. Been in that office for a couple years with my neurologist.

I remember being nervous, because this was my first time seeing a pdoc. Walked me down the hall to his office, I want to say it was normal chit-chat, because that's the norm walking down the hallway. This first appointment, was different from other appointments, because he took two chairs and we faced each other. And the initial session interview, began.

He wears glasses, and is tall, carries himself as self-assured, so I could tell whatever it was that I had, he would get to the root of it. At first, for a while I just saw him as stoic. Which, doesn't strike me odd, after all, I'd expect that in his profession.

Through the years, have I seen him smile? Yes. There's been times, in the earlier years appointments, that he'd ask me a question, and sit typing at his computer, which to me, is the modern version of pen and paper. Hmmm. Mmmmm. That type of session, was my first impression, imagined what seeing Freud would be like.

I am the type, that he'd ask a question, I answer. Stop. He'd pick himself out of the computer, quizzically, and then ask another question. I'd answer.

Of course, there's the barrage of questions, all the same ones. You all must know those?

I didn't go to him between May of last year, until October of this past year. But when I returned in October, I had brought a book, to read in the waiting room. And for some reason or another, walking down that hallway, he asked me a question about it. I said, to myself, F..., stop being distracted by whatever is distracting me, and just pay attention for a change. So, I said, I am sorry, can you repeat what you just asked me. And he did.

Then the following appointment, was more sports oriented. Then the following appointment, more engaging and wow, he smiles and gets animated! I've even seen him smile, it's a really big smile.

Well, that's what mine is like.

looks like you have hit it off after a slow start.

My p'doc is really good and I can talk to him and am quite comfortable with him.
So far he has already taken 3 months off this year (Long Service Leave - after working for 10 years) and right now he is taking one month off for this year. So mostly I like him but right now he has been away this year more than he has been here.

My pdoc is a very kind and knowledgeable man who is quite committed to helping me be as healthy as I can be (and that doesn't necessarily mean meds in his book). I have great confidence in his abilities.

What a variety! I love it!

I've had like 20 over 15 years but the most memorable ones (good and bad) are:

Adolescent Pdoc who just nodded a lot.

Dude who fell asleep during my initial evaluation.

Lady Pdoc who was more like my friend than a doctor--got me out of some serious stuff but no long term effects on changing thought patterns.

Dude who said "are you this long winded when you have conversations with other people?"

Pdoc at the hospital who said "you need a mood stabilizer, stat".

Pdoc who I felt like was just doing it for the money; didn't really care. He was like an impostor Pdoc.

Most recent Pdoc: explains why things are happening in my brain. I like him but the visits are too short.